Although scientific studies have shown that mistaken identity is a common phenomenon, jurors give very strong credence to eyewitness testimony, particularly where the eyewitness is resolute in believing that their identification of the defendant was correct.

A man who spent 18 years in prison on a rape charge walked out of court Tuesday a free man, exonerated by DNA evidence.

James Calvin Tillman, 44, had been imprisoned since his arrest in 1988. He was sentenced a year later to 45 years in prison.

Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Miano granted Tillman's request last month for a new trial and released him on his own recognizance. On Tuesday, Miano dropped all charges and wished him "health and happiness into the future."

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Tillman was 26 when he was charged with abducting a woman as she got into her car near a Hartford restaurant, then beating and raping her at a housing project.

The woman picked out Tillman from a series of photos, and friends contradicted his alibi.